Pat Gillick signs a three-year deal, becoming the Phillies’ general manager. The 68 year-old, who has held the same position with the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Mariners, has led his teams to two World Series titles and nine playoff appearances.
Former Baltimore Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli rejoins the New York Yankees as Joe Torre’s bench coach.
Showing that teams put a premium on pitching, the Boston Red Sox and reliever Mike Timlin agree to a one-year contract worth about $3.25 million, and the Seattle Mariners exercise their $6.25 million option on closer Eddie Guardado, choosing to keep him rather than explore an uncertain free agent market.
American League Gold Glove Award winners are announced. Players Kenny Rogers (P), Jason Varitek (C), Mark Teixeira (1B), Orlando Hudson (2B), Eric Chavez (3B), Derek Jeter (SS), Ichiro Suzuki (OF), Torii Hunter (OF) and Vernon Wells (OF) earn the honor.
Larry Bowa is hired by the New York Yankees as their third base coach for next season. A five-time All-Star shortstop, Bowa managed San Diego and the Phillies, and also coached for the Angels, Mariners and Phillies. Bowa is the first addition to Yankees manager Joe Torre’s coaching staff, which lost pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, who retired, and bench coach Joe Girardi, who became manager of the Florida Marlins. Luis Sojo, who coached third base last season, is expected to be offered another job by the Yankees.
Bobby Valentine becomes the first foreign manager to win the Japan Series in the 70-year history of Japanese baseball. Sweeping the Hanshin Tigers, the former Rangers and Mets skipper leads the Chiba Lotte Marines to their first league championship in 31 years.
The first World Series game ever to be played in the state of Texas proves to be memorable when Geoff Blum’s 14th-inning solo home run (30th MLer to hit an HR in first WS AB) becomes the beginning of the end of the longest Fall Classic contest ever played. The 7-5 victory, which gives the White Sox a commanding 3-0 advantage over the Astros, takes 5 hours, 41 minutes to complete, with the 14 frames equaling the number of innings the Red Sox needed to beat the Dodgers in Game 2 of the 1916 series.
On the verge of the first World Series game in Texas, much to the chagrin of the Astros, MLB rules Houston must play Game 3 of the Fall Classic with its Minute Maid Park roof open. During the regular season, the team had a much better record (38-17) when the ballpark was enclosed than in games started in open air (15-11).
The juiced Minute Maid Park crowd, anticipating the Astros’ first National League crown, after the first two batters are quickly retired, is ‘pulverized’ when Albert Pujols hits a two out three-run ninth-inning homer. A two-strike single stroked by David Eckstein and a walk worked out by Jim Edmonds set the stage for the Cardinals’ dramatic 5-4 comeback..
In the ALCS, Freddy Garcia continues the powerful pitching parade that has guided the Chicago White Sox to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series by tossing a complete game as the Angels are defeated, 8 – 2. Paul Konerko hits a three-run home run off Ervin Santana in the 1st inning, the second straight game in which he has gone deep in the 1st. Garcia joins Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle to give the White Sox a formidable streak of three consecutive complete games.
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